22,761 - WTF?

"Five days after the season ended, Carmody met with USM President Lucas and was asked to resign. Announcing his departure at a press conference, Carmody stated 'I did not see this coming.' One of the reasons the university cited for making the change was the lack of attendance for home games."

-Rock Solid, Cox and Bennett, 2004, p. 204

My point? It's not that Hopson must go, necessarily, although he ain't half the coach Carmody was. My only request is that our leadership DO SOMETHING. The status quo is not working.

GO INDEPENDENT.

FIX REED GREEN. I don't care if you have to float Enron-tier junk bonds to get it done.

MAKE SOME FUCKING NOISE for a change. We are not, and we will not be, "just fine."

Re: 22,761 - WTF?

Re: 22,761 - WTF?

Attendance hasn't changed much in the last 30 years. Remember Monken getting mad as hell for only 22,000 showing up for austin peay? But, 18k butts in the stands for an Sec home opener is pitiful. Whoses fault is this? I surely do not blame Hop for this. Well, maybe a little. Boring ass offense, 4 yards and a cloud of dust just won't get it in todays game. Ask Les Miles.

Why low numbers? IDK. Beautiful weather, 1st home game, Sec team, certain amount of hype, new QB. Maybe the fact that it was opening weekend of dove season and both Ole Miss and State were playing at home. We only got so many paying fans in the state. The game was on a decent TV network which most could view. Tv affects our already small fan base significantly. There is very little affect if you always have 60k wanting tickets to a 40k stadium.

Attendance has been a problem for the past 40 years going to the start of the Collins era. Sure wish someone would figure it out!

Re: 22,761 - WTF?

One more plausible explanation. Cheapened product image. We are now a discount product. Sold in the cheap dollar stores. The conference CUSA image is severely shattered and torn. On the bottom shelf for display. Basically we have become an old stale out of date product. The parent company (cusa) has lost its appeal. We play in an irrelevant conference and play past inferior opponents that have since dragged us down to their level.. No one is scrolling thru the crapusa scores this morning to see how teams did. Not even cusa fans. No one gives a shit. There, that is one explanation. Take it or leave it.

Re: 22,761 - WTF?

I'm certain you could poll any ticket holder at the gate and 98% couldn't name the team/location of our current conference members....

w/o looking it up, in 1980, there were ~106 D1 football programs.....now there are 130+....this affects recruiting....

TV$$$....that boat has become meaningless in our world....yet, it impacts eyeballs and where they choose to view....

people are lazy.....we now have a generation of thumbtappers w/o a clue what the real world is all about....they're safer in their 'space'

$$$ in general....the burg and surrounding area is hardly a money haven for most....the necessities (housing/food/gas) mean more than a tic purchase to many......the ones that have $$$, are ole pissy/lswho/moo-U/bammers/etc 'fans'......it's been force fed to them from the womb.....

there are others.....one has to understand the schematic before one can connect the dots and make revisions accordingly.....unfortunately, "everything is just fine" doesn't cut the cake anymore....that's what happens when one only wants and expects "cake"

Re: 22,761 - WTF?

I wonder how many of these $EC bandwagon homers will abandon ship if say OM, Moo and Bamar all go down in a huge scandal...wouldn't that be great. Or better yet, those 3 plus L$U, Tenn, Fla, GA, etc. Take 'em all down to just their actual alumni following them. It sure couldn't hurt our poor asses.

Re: 22,761 - WTF?

I'm certain you could poll any ticket holder at the gate and 98% couldn't name the team/location of our current conference members....

w/o looking it up, in 1980, there were ~106 D1 football programs.....now there are 130+....this affects recruiting....

TV$$$....that boat has become meaningless in our world....yet, it impacts eyeballs and where they choose to view....

people are lazy.....we now have a generation of thumbtappers w/o a clue what the real world is all about....they're safer in their 'space'

$$$ in general....the burg and surrounding area is hardly a money haven for most....the necessities (housing/food/gas) mean more than a tic purchase to many......the ones that have $$$, are ole pissy/lswho/moo-U/bammers/etc 'fans'......it's been force fed to them from the womb.....

there are others.....one has to understand the schematic before one can connect the dots and make revisions accordingly.....unfortunately, "everything is just fine" doesn't cut the cake anymore....that's what happens when one only wants and expects "cake"

Re: 22,761 - WTF?

Re: 22,761 - WTF?

One more plausible explanation. Cheapened product image. We are now a discount product. Sold in the cheap dollar stores. The conference CUSA image is severely shattered and torn. On the bottom shelf for display. Basically we have become an old stale out of date product. The parent company (cusa) has lost its appeal. We play in an irrelevant conference and play past inferior opponents that have since dragged us down to their level.. No one is scrolling thru the crapusa scores this morning to see how teams did. Not even cusa fans. No one gives a shit. There, that is one explanation. Take it or leave it.

Beers is right. But should also mention the wonderful array of games showcased each week on the networks, ESPN, & FS1. In case you missed it, there are some really good matchups each week on TV. The average football fan in south MS can watch two or three good games on Saturday in the time that it takes to travel to a game at the Rock...which is typically NOT a marquee matchup.

Re: 22,761 - WTF?

I understand already that CUSA has a terribly watered down product with new FBS upstarts and other G5 retreads. Additionally, everyone knows that Judy is a terrible commish who doesn't understand the product she's trying to sell or the sporting landscape. We all know that the non-existent TV deal is utter garbage. And others assert the "hope" that we can have the freedom to negotiate our own schedules. But, the other two G5 type non-academy independents (Liberty and NMST) have set up decent schedules with one odd hiccup- they play each other twice. So I'm not sold on the idea that Gilbert Grape can just call up any school he wants and whore us out (plus I'd rather not play 5 home games every year). But, other than those arguments, I haven't heard any other reason or a logical benefit to why we should go independent.

What would be the perceived cost/benefit of being Indy versus in CUSA (or even the AAC) for that matter?

"If you are going to war and if you get to pick first, choose Southern Mississippi. Always choose Southern Mississippi. No matter how hard you fight, these folks will fight harder.”-- Mickey Spagnola

Re: 22,761 - WTF?

I understand already that CUSA has a terribly watered down product with new FBS upstarts and other G5 retreads. Additionally, everyone knows that Judy is a terrible commish who doesn't understand the product she's trying to sell or the sporting landscape. We all know that the non-existent TV deal is utter garbage. And others assert the "hope" that we can have the freedom to negotiate our own schedules. But, the other two G5 type non-academy independents (Liberty and NMST) have set up decent schedules with one odd hiccup- they play each other twice. So I'm not sold on the idea that Gilbert Grape can just call up any school he wants and whore us out (plus I'd rather not play 5 home games every year). But, other than those arguments, I haven't heard any other reason or a logical benefit to why we should go independent.

What would be the perceived cost/benefit of being Indy versus in CUSA (or even the AAC) for that matter?

XACLY!

there is no advantage.....

we can get whore games if we want in CUSA or indy.....

games that are broadcast doesn't change.....if we're undefeated late in the season, they'll plug us in on the espenis as req'd.....

we have zero clout on the nat'l canvas....

it doesn't fucking matter at this point.....

our best move is to chatter with the ones that are going to get left out when the TV contracts begin to expire in '20.....

Re: 22,761 - WTF?

btw....I'm still geTTTing pop-up ads for the KY jello game at the 'other' board....

great MKT job by our crew.......

fk'n idiots.....

Digital ads are a waste of fuckin time and money...you get a few thousand ads with a market penetration that is abysmal. They actually try to tell you that a 0.37 penetration is good. I tell them to jam that in their asses. Yet our folks fall for that shit. That's what happens when you spend someone else's money and not your own. You can get so much more for free from facebook, twitter and the like without "boosting" as FB tries to sell you on. We did a giveaway two weeks ago and had 73,614 views for FREE. If a couple of Coast boys can do this, why can't USM???

Re: 22,761 - WTF?

What reason is there to go to a game? Entertainment? The product? everything about USM football from stadium, food, the scoreboard audio is horrible, etc it's em brass if. Winning a CUSA championship is like winning a race at fat camp. There is absolutely nothing about our program that generates a lick of excitement.

Re: 22,761 - WTF?

What reason is there to go to a game? Entertainment? The product? everything about USM football from stadium, food, the scoreboard audio is horrible, etc it's em brass if. Winning a CUSA championship is like winning a race at fat camp. There is absolutely nothing about our program that generates a lick of excitement.

Re: 22,761 - WTF?

What reason is there to go to a game? Entertainment? The product? everything about USM football from stadium, food, the scoreboard audio is horrible, etc it's em brass if. Winning a CUSA championship is like winning a race at fat camp. There is absolutely nothing about our program that generates a lick of excitement.

Re: 22,761 - WTF?

What reason is there to go to a game? Entertainment? The product? everything about USM football from stadium, food, the scoreboard audio is horrible, etc it's em brass if. Winning a CUSA championship is like winning a race at fat camp. There is absolutely nothing about our program that generates a lick of excitement.

Stadium-- It's old. It needs revamping. We're poor. There's not enough funding to do much other than put bandaids, chewing gum, and paper clips on pipes.

Food-- Aramark (Eagle Dining) is one of the worst things at USM. They have a monopoly on almost every campus in the southeast/nation. Every school they are at they ruin whatever food or concession is there. I was at Bobby Dodd over the summer for an Atlanta United match, and Aramark runs their concessions as well- not as bad as ours, but still rundown and lackluster (though having chick fil a in the stadium was nice). They've promised to re-do concessions, add food places on campus, and upgrade their menus at all venues and have all fallen through.

Scoreboard Audio-- This is actually something that can be changed. However, what there are varying opinions on how the scoreboard and game time atmosphere should be ran. You may be upset by it, but others think that it's okay. I think losing a lot of good minds in the athletic department is still hurting any innovation that could take place. Also, I think the people who are there are afraid of change or innovation or if they do make changes it's terrible (aka Karaoke with the coaches)

The Conference-- It is what it is. It's the result of so many different factors that explaining them feels like a broken record player. Judy is terrible. It's a bunch of FBS startups and G5 retreads. But what's sad is everyone on here seems to think that we're so much better than this conference and that we need out, well why haven't we won a conference championship since the last conference reorganization. We have to win first to be able to criticize the teams in our conference (agreeing with your lackluster product comment). We have to generate excitement about matchups with LA Tech or UTSA (yes, I know this sounds like crap). You can't talk crap if you don't have anything recent to back it up.

"If you are going to war and if you get to pick first, choose Southern Mississippi. Always choose Southern Mississippi. No matter how hard you fight, these folks will fight harder.”-- Mickey Spagnola